He was "famed for his loyalty and wisdom," one of the most trusted adherents of Attila the Hun, who "prized him above all the other chieftains."
In 454, Ardaric led his Gepid and Ostrogothic forces against Attila's son Ellak and his Hunnish army.
The Battle of Nedao was a bloody but decisive victory for Ardaric, in which Ellak was killed.
His defeat of the Huns at the River Nedao reduced the threat of invasion posed to the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Gepid king Mundo (Mundonus), who ruled in the early 6th century, was probably his grandson.